The harvest
The process of the elaboration of the red wine starts with the harvest, which is the recolection of the grapes. The wine is born in the vine, with a good work at the vineyars, rigorous controls along the vegetative cycle and constant analysis of the grapes. The first rule in Rioja to make a good quality wine is to have good quality grapes. In Bodegas Álvarez Alfaro we only elaborate the grapes produced in our own vineyards, asuring the best possible quality of the fruit.

 

Despalillado y recepción de la uva
Once the grapes are collected at their optimum ripeness, they are taken to the winery. Firstly the grapes are separated from the stem, destemmed.

Maceration and Fermentation
Maceration takes place in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperature Acording to the type of wine that we are going to elaborate, the maceration will vary in its duration.

With the alcoholic fermentation, the sugar will turn into alcohol, thanks to the work of the yeasts. During the fermentation process it is important to carry out pumping-overs Which is the action of removing the must from the bottom of the tank and reintroduce it from the top in order to filter it through the skins and thus extract the colour from these.

Devatting and Pressing
The next step in the elaboration of the red wine is the process of debatting, which is the extraction of the “new born” wine from the deposit.

The skins that are left in the tank are taken into the press. They are pressed carefully. We obtain more wine and besides we extract the necessary bacteries for the last step of the process of the elaboration which is the malolactic fermentation.

 

Malolactic Fermentation
After the alcoholic fermentation and the pressing, the wine starts a second fermentation called malolactic. It is the transformation of the malic acid coming from the grapes ( very astringent) into lactic acid (smooth and pleasant)

We have now the young wine

At this point we can bottle it as young wine or continue with the process of ageing to get a Crianza or Reserva quality wine.

You just have to choose what you like most and enjoy the best wines from Rioja Cheers!!

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Garnacha Blanca 2023
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